William Seidman

Recently, I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Use Your Seat to Get Ahead.” The subtitle of the article, “Sitting next to a star at work improves your performance,” particularly piqued my interest since we do a lot of work with star performers at Cerebyte. The gist of the article is […]

As anyone who read this blog knows, I am an advocate of developing a compelling social purpose and aligning everything in your work and life with achieving that purpose. Recently, I wrote a blog about how purpose-driven approaches to learning in general and the Cerebyte methodology contribute to brain health. Now there’s another study that […]

Today, workers often need to learn new skills for increasingly technical jobs. Re-training workers who have been displaced seems to be an ongoing need. We shared some advice about how to manage effective re-training programs in this article that’s just been published in Training Industry. Check it out for ideas for your organization.

I just finished reading a book entitled, “Why We Work” by Barry Schwartz. The book has three core messages that really resonated with me: – The evidence that purpose is the primary motivator of behaviors is overwhelming – The conventional wisdoms that formal, particularly financial incentives are the primary motivator of behavior is wrong and […]

I recently read an article in the New York Times about neuroscience and innovation titled, “Eureka? Yes, Eureka!” The article starts off by disputing a quote from Mark Zuckerberg about innovation. In his quote, Zuckerberg states that innovation does not occur in a single epiphany but as a result of lots of hard work. […]

In the past few weeks, two events converged that caused me to reflect on the importance of being a self-directed learner in today’s fast-paced, complex world. First, we launched a program for one of our clients in the health insurance industry. The program’s goal is to develop people who work with “providers,” such as doctors, […]

In the last week, I have had substantive interactions with three corporate universities (“U” for short) responsible for a wide variety of learning programs, one of which was incredibly vibrant, energetic and effective. The other two were low energy, clearly demoralized and ineffective. The contrast between the three programs was so sharp that it really […]

We are pleased to report that our article, 4 Neuroscience-Based Components of Engaging Leadership Development Programs, was recently published in Training Industry. In the article, we describe the four key components that make neuroscience-based leadership development programs so successful: a compelling purpose, path to mastery, practical exercises and applied social learning. For the full article, […]

I was listening to Oregon Public Broadcasting’s (OPB) TED Radio about machine learning. For those of you who don’t know, machine learning is the next generation of artificial intelligence and is distinguished by the idea that machines learn from their own mistakes and can therefore evolve more quickly than humans. One of the implications of […]

In my blog post, “The Undoing Project unwrapped – Part 1,” I discussed the book “The Undoing Project” and how it relates to decision-making. Now, I will describe how “The Undoing Project” is directly relevant to our work at Cerebyte. First, one of the messages from the book is that there are far too many […]

"Affirmative Leadership, as presented in "The Star Factor," is one of the best front-line leadership development programs that I have worked with. This program helps identify the best practices of your top performers, which are then developed into a learning curriculum for others in the organization. The participants are supported through coaching and mentorship from leaders within the organization. This approach ensures ownership and commitment from the participants in their journey to become better leaders."​

Prashant Bhat, Learning Director, Cigna

"The Star Factor" is a whole new way of thinking about organizational behavior change. It takes neuroscience, adds another important science, positive deviancy, adds technology, and creates a whole new approach to organizational performance. This is one of the more science-based, data driven approaches to organizational transformation I have seen.

"Lucky managers have a star on their roster, a 'Michael Jordan' who can make things happen on the court. Smart managers find ways to bring everyone up to that level. The qualities of stand-out employees are not mysterious--they are tools, attitudes, and inner drives that can be taught and fostered. "The Star Factor" will help you understand what makes a star and how to nurture everyone's inner magic."